My Corner of the World

My Corner of the World -

Cream of Mushroom (Puffball) Soup

After the motherlode find of puffballs, I decided to make some soup out of some of it. My gosh, it’s good. It’s not a heavy mushroom flavour but does make a thick light tasting soup. I don’t like a lot of salt in my soup so for those who do, add more.

Ingredients:

  • About 3 tbsp. olive oil
  • 6 c. packed mushroom (puffball) in about 3/4″ cubes
  • 2 medium thinly sliced onions (about 2.5″ diameter)
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp. dried oregano (I crush it to release more flavour)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground thyme
  • 1 tbsp. marjoram (optional)
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 6 c. chicken broth
  • 1 c. 3% milk
  • Salt to taste (about 3/4 tsp., more if you like salty soup)
  • Pepper (about 1/2 tsp.)

Preparation:

  • In a dutch oven, sautée onion and mushroom with the olive oil over medium heat
  • Once the water has evaporated from them (about 15 minutes), sprinkle flour on the mushroom mix and stir well to coat
  • Slowly add broth, continuously stirring (the goal is to thicken the mixture)
  • Add salt and pepper
  • Once all broth has been added, let simmer for 5 minutes. Some pieces of mushroom can be removed and set aside if you like chunks of mushroom in your soup
  • Let cool and use an immersion blender to purée the mixture. It will be very thick
  • Add the milk and turn off the stove. If you find it too thick, you can cut it with water some. Add you mushroom pieces if you had set any aside

June’s Oatmeal Cookies

June made these soft oatmeal cookies and they were really good. She adds raisins in hers.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar (1 c. baking Splenda)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar (1/2 c. brown Splenda)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (1.5 c. whole wheat)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup raisins (optional)

Preparation:

  • In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats.
  • Shape into 1-1/2-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute before removing to wire racks.

Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares

I got this recipe from another site, but quite frankly, I didn’t find the author put enough cheesecake filling in. I also made it a little more nutritionally friendly. Note: Baking Splenda can be substituted with white or brown sugar and whole wheat flour can be substituted with all-purpose.

Ingredients:

Crust

  • 2 c. whole wheat (if you use the optional rolled oats and coconut, reduce the flour amount by a 1/2 cup)
  • 1 c. baking Splenda
  • 1 c. large flaked rolled oats (optional)
  • 1 c. shredded coconut (optional)
  • 1 c. butter, chilled

Filling

  • 4 c. chopped rhubarb
  • 1- 3 oz. pkg. strawberry or raspberry Jell-O
  • 3 bricks cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 2 1/2 c. baking Splenda (divided)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Preparation:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
  2. In a bowl, combine flour and sweetener. Cut in the butter and mix until texture is like coarse crumbs.
  3. Mix in coconut and rolled oats
  4. Pour half of the crust mixture into a greased 9×13 pan and press into the bottom and sides to create the crust
  5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and remove
  6. In a medium-sized bowl, coat the rhubarb with the jello and 1/2 c. of
    the sweetener and set aside. You can steam the rhubarb in the microwave for 5 minutes if you want to ensure it will be soft enough for someone without teeth to enjoy
  7. In a new bowl, combine cream cheese and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix at medium speed until well-blended
  8. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the partially-baked crust, and spread it evenly with caution to avoid breaking the crust up
  9. Sprinkle the rhubarb mixture over the cream cheese (be aware that the cream cheese mixture is soft, so you won’t be able to do a lot of spreading without getting it all mixed up). Top with the remaining crust mixture
  10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes
  11. Cool on a cooling rack for about an hour before cutting into it
  12. Refrigerate for a couple of hours, but if you can’t wait at this point, that’s ok. Slice into it and enjoy!

Mild Taco Seasoning

This isn’t a spicy seasoning mix but it’s packed with flavour!

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 5 tsp whole cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder

Preparation:

Well… mix everything together and use it 😉

Corn Salsa

Another one from the Canadian Living Test Kitchen (I trust their recipes)…  They listed the ingredients but no prep instructions.  I’ll make up my own 😉  I’m guessing they roast the corn before adding the tomatoes, etc., but I’m sure if you boiled it in water or steamed it in the Instant Pot, it would be just as good.  Brad and I have agreed to stick in in the BBQ (husk and all) and let it roast that way.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cobs corn (unhusked)
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped onion
  • 2 or 3 quartered Roma tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Roast, boil, or steam corn.  Once cooled, remove from the cob.

Add everything, except corn, in a food processor and chop it until desired consistency.  Empty into a bowl, add corn and mix well.

Note:  We’re making many batches to can it.  Also, I add a bit more lime juice to bring out the taste.

Corn Relish

From the Canadian Living Test Kitchen (I trust their recipes)…

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon dry mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • 5 cups corn kernels
  • 1 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped celery
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 cup diced sweet red pepper
  • 1 cup diced sweet green pepper

Preparation:

In large Dutch oven or saucepan, bring vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard, celery seeds, turmeric and hot pepper sauce to boil. Stir in corn, onions and celery; reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until softened, about 20 minutes.

Whisk flour with 3 tbsp (45 mL) cold water; whisk into pan. Add red and green peppers; bring to boil and cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Fill hot 1-cup (250 mL) canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) headspace. Cover with prepared lids. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

Mild Salsa

This is a really nice salsa recipe that requires no cooking, it’s mild but has a little kick to it in the back of your throat (nothing major though).  If you want it spicier, add peppers.  The original recipe called for green tomotoes, but I had red ones to use and they worked out great.  A friend of mine did hers with green and she really liked it.

Ingredients:

  • About 13 cups chopped (quarters or eighths depending on size) Roma tomatoes
  • 2 medium onions (we used 1.5 but we had the stalks of the onions in since they were out of our garden)
  • 1 green or red pepper
  • 1 c. fresh cilantro
  • 2 tbsp. minced garlic
  • 1/4 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 8 – 10 tbsp. lime juice
  • 3 tbsp. fresh oregano (you could probably use dried too, just crush it in your fingers before to release the taste)
  • 3/4 tbsp. cayenne
  • a couple of pinches red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp. white vinegar

Preparation:

Combine tomatoes, onions, and peppers in a large bowl.

Mix cilantro, sugar, garlic, oregano, vinegar, and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.

Fill food processor with about 2 cups tomato mixture, 1 tbsp. lime juice, and 1/4 of the spice mixture; blend to desired consistency and pour into a large bowl. Repeat processing with remaining tomato mixture, lime juice, and spice mixture, working in batches, until all ingredients are blended.  Stir complete batch together well.  

Can it or freeze what you don’t eat right away 🙂

Note:  You might have more tomato mixture left over than spice mix.  Don’t worry, just continue processing it to desired consistency and once it’s in the finished pot, stir it all together well.  Also, I added the remained of the lime juice into the processed pot.  If you don’t like much lime in it, use less.

 

Spaghetti Squash Pie

This year we had an abundance of spaghetti squash from our garden.  Today I finally tried to make a pie out of it, similar to a pumpkin pie.  It turned out great!  Basically it’s pumpkin pie, but with spaghetti squash.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small spaghetti squash (about 2 c.)
  • 1/4 -1/2 c. water
  • 1/2 can evaporated milk (coconut milk will do too)
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. ginger
  • 1/4 c.brown Splenda
  • 2 large eggs
  • Pie shell

Preparation:

Cut and peel the squash, microwave with the water for about 18 min.  Drain and mash well (I used my immersion blender).

Add remaining ingredients (except pie shell, of course) and mix well.  Pour into a pie shell.  Bake at 375F for about 15 min. then reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 20 min. or until the center has completely set.  Let cool/refrigerate before serving.